Sonic & Tails: Beyond the Stars
by DocCrusher
Summary: Sonic and Tails only planned on having a vacation in the island of Viridonia, but with the help of their new friend Lutrudis Hadeer, they'll have to unravel Eggman's most destructive scheme to date, meeting many old friends and foes along the way... (Fanfic/Fangame combo)
1. Adieu, Vacation

_**Prologue: Adieu, Vacation**_

"…zzz…"

"Sonic."

"…zzz…zzz…"

"Sonic…"

"Zzz… zzz… zzz…"

"Hey. Sonic."

"Urgh… what?"

"We're nearly here."

"Oh! Great!"

Awakening from his deep slumber… on the wing of the Tornado… Sonic the Hedgehog slowly opened his eyes and wiped them, and when he could see more clearly, he was dazzled by what he saw.

The sea below their flight was just as faintly green as it was blue, making for a shimmering spectacle of colour. But what was up ahead was even greater: An island of truly impressive scope, far greater in size than South Island and Westside Island combined. Some would say it's even larger than the floating Angel Island. All sorts of sights and geography could be seen to the naked eye even from afar. And if you looked at it from above, you would notice its shape was perfectly circular, like a smooth gemstone.

This island, known to the world at large as **Viridonia** , was where Sonic and his best friend Tails were planning to take a well-needed vacation. Saving the world was hard work, and after all the trials these two have faced, you couldn't say they didn't deserve it. But is it possible that malicious intentions could come along to make a mess of their intended vacation time…?

Well… we'll get to that when we get to that.

"Looks stunning, doesn't it?" Sonic asked out loud, with a massive grin on his face.

"It sure does," answered Tails with a smile, as he took in the pleasant view. "I've heard great things about this place, but seeing it is another story. I can't even begin to think of where to start with somewhere so big!"

"We have all the time in the world for that, so what's the rush?" Sonic glanced at the island once again, this time with a more thoughtful expression. "I just hope there's no trouble from Eggman this time around. We never get a break from him, do we?"

"Actually," Tails pointed out with a raised finger. "You told me there was no Eggman in those books that were lent to you. Well, technically there was a guy who looked like Eggman in the first one, but…"

"Alright, don't get technical with me," Sonic poked his tongue out in light jest. He then motioned towards the ground. "Okay, we're getting real close, let's find a spot to land."

"Right away," the fox obeyed, before adding "And uh… don't worry, I made sure to install the landing gear this time."

"Oh. Nice."

* * *

They landed on an empty stretch of sand by the sea, having made sure they wouldn't land in a place that would cause too much interference. The little beach was peppered with turquoise rocks that looked and shined like real gems, and the sand itself was more white than it was yellow. Despite being by the sea, the town nearby had a very modern appearance, full of elegant buildings teeming with a glassy sheen. As Tails spent a little more time fiddling around with the Tornado, Sonic wasted no time in admiring the setting, glancing at the many species of citizens walking around, minding their own business.

"Heh heh… just look at all this," Sonic said to himself as he marveled at the shining buildings, hands on his hips. He was definitely liking the look of his vacation spot. "So much to see, so much to do. And it's just me and Tails."

" _~Soniiiiiic!~"_

"And… Amy?"

Sonic turned to his right to find none other than Amy Rose, who was currently sprinting over to him with a big grin. Her younger friend, Cream, was tagging along behind her.

"Fancy seeing you here!" Amy beamed. Her tail was unashamedly wagging away in excitement.

"Oh uh, hey Amy…" Sonic muttered out of surprise. "Didn't know you'd be here… Why ARE you here?"

"Isn't it obvious? We wanted to go on a vacation of our own! And we just HAD to come here when we read all about it." She looked over to Cream, who simply nodded. "We haven't seen much of the place yet, but there's no hurry, right?"

Sonic looked over at Cream, as if he was expecting something from her.

"She's telling the truth, Mr. Sonic," the rabbit assured.

"Okay, good."

"Huh? What do you mean?" The pink hedgehog frowned as she crossed her arms. "You didn't think I just followed you here like some creepy weirdo, did you?"

"No, of course not," Sonic chuckled. "I'm sure you wouldn't do that… probably."

"Good! We didn't know you would be here, but how lucky for us that you are! Maybe we can go to the little park in Cosmic City together… maybe find the perfect spot for the two of us, _~hmm~_?" She winked playfully, complete with a little spin.

"…Maybe. Maybe. We'll see," Sonic said in a very neutral manner, although he couldn't help but smirk at his friend's ever present determination. As he walked off to see how Tails was doing, Amy turned and noticed that Cream looked uncomfortable, despite the lack of any apparent danger.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Amy asked out of concern. "You still feeling a little anxious?"

The rabbit just nodded silently. Her hands were mildly fidgeting.

"Well, that's okay, you know." She put her hand on Cream's shoulder. "But your mother wouldn't have let you come with me if she felt it would be a bad idea… Although then again… she didn't mind you taking on evil monsters… or evil robots… and going through all sorts of dangerous places…" She shook her head and hoped her friend didn't hear that part. "This is meant to be a good time for both of us, Cream. It's why I brought you along, after all."

"I know, and I appreciate that very much, Amy," the girl thanked her politely. "Maybe I could have a little look around… but I won't go too far away from you, okay?"

"I know you won't," Amy smiled.

Meanwhile, Sonic was busy conversing with Tails. "I guess it won't just be us two after all while we're over here…"

"Is that really a bad thing?" Tails asked, as he skimmed through the pages of his Viridonia guidebook. "I mean, it's just Amy and Cream. They're not likely to cause trouble."

"True," Sonic shrugged as he looked to the side. He followed it up with a smile. "It's been a while since I hanged out with them anyway, so maybe this is a good opportuni-"

"OH MY GOD, IT'S SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!"

"Sonic the Hedgehog!? Wow, it really IS Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"Sonic? And Tails? SONIC AND TAILS!?"

Within seconds, a bunch of guys and gals had surrounded the two friends, rapidly shaking hands with them and asking for autographs. Sonic, clearly used to this routine, handled it all very smoothly. Tails was considerably more flustered about getting so much sudden attention. They both received their share of emotionally-charged questions from the crowd.

"What's it like being the fastest thing alive!?"

"How do you make all those cool machines!?"

"What's the toughest battle you've ever been in…?"

"How fluffy are those tails?"

"WHEN WILL YOU AND AMY _KISS?_ "

"Wait, did Amy tell you to ask that one?" Sonic inquired accusingly.

" _OH MY GOD, AMY'S HERE TOO?"_

"Uh… sorry Amy!" Sonic called out in his friend's direction, with the knowledge that she would soon get overwhelmed with fans of her own.

* * *

In an effort to get herself acquainted with where she'll be staying for the next few days, Cream had wandered into a nearby forest, accompanied by her loyal pet, Cheese. She took her time looking around, making sure she didn't get too lost in the place. The leaves were of an autumnal flavor, and fireflies could be seen lighting the place up, even during the daytime. The young rabbit was impressed with the scene, an innocent smile having planted itself on her face the whole time.

"It's so pretty, isn't it Cheese?" Her Chao friend nodded. "Maybe it was a little silly of me to get so tense. It's just a new experience for us, you know? I wonder if Amy would like this… Maybe Mr. Sonic would like it too? …Cheese? What's the matter?"

Noticing her friend was distracted by something, Cream turned her head in the same direction to see what had caught his attention. To her surprise, in front of them was a massive castle, much like the ones she had seen in many a fairytale as read by her mother. Its structures, made of solid stone, were all impeccably smooth, as were its dark green rooftops. The scene was complimented with a magnificent view of the distant hills from behind, as well as a gorgeous view of the clouds above. There was a small waterfall and lake close by to the right, and directly in front of the castle was an impressive little garden, filled with a colorful variety of flowers and plants.

The young rabbit was amazed by this unexpected sight. Who did this castle belong to? A king? A queen? She couldn't know for sure, but the healthy status of the garden indicated that someone definitely lived there even in the present time.

"This is so cool! We've got to tell the others about this!" Cream bounced up and down giddily. With an approving nod from Cheese, she turned to the opposite direction as she prepared to make her way back to the beach… only to be greeted with a pair of glowing red eyes staring down at her.

"What the-" Cream gasped as she looked up at the rather ominous entity that was towering over her. It didn't appear to have a fully solid form, as its body was made up of a misty black substance that occasionally gave off a sickly dark green hue. And yet, the girl could recognise prominent reptilian features, most notably a long tongue and a wide row of sharp, saliva-dripped teeth that were currently preparing to take a bite out of her. The top of its vaguely-shaped head appeared to be armored.

Cream slowly stepped back in horror. Even someone her age knew right away that this thing wasn't going to be friendly. Without thinking, without saying anything, she grabbed Cheese for dear life and ran off into the forest. She didn't know where she was headed, as the only thing on her mind was to get away from that monster as soon as possible.

Unfortunately for her, the monster was faster than she anticipated, for it didn't take long for it to block her path with its sizable mass.

Shaken, but unwilling to give up, she made a sharp turn towards an alternate direction, but the monster blocked her path in seconds once again. The third time was no luckier. Neither was the fourth time. Or the fifth time. Or the time after that. No matter how tricky Cream tried to be in her attempts to escape from the beast, it successfully countered and tracked her down each and every time, until at last, an especially large tree blocked the girl's path. She turned to the beast out of panicked frustration, and her whole body was shaking. She didn't even bother trying to fly away, as she knew it was too fast for her to escape that way. Contrasting her own fear, she hid Cheese behind her back, defending her beloved friend from its clutches. The monster opened its jaws, ready to make a meal out of the poor girl…

When suddenly, it threw its head back in what could be interpreted as a mix of confusion and anger. It turned its head violently in every direction possible, as if it were looking for something… as if it were distracted by something. With a mighty roar, its misty form escaped to the skies above, leaving the forest as quickly as it appeared.

Cream took a few seconds to check her heartbeat as she attempted to calm herself down from what just happened. She didn't know what that thing was, but she was glad it was gone. After checking that Cheese was safe and sound, she noticed there was a single arrow on the ground near where the monster was. She crouched down to closely examine the arrow, and she couldn't help but feel intrigued by the elegant patterns that she found on it.

"You okay there?"

Cream jumped a little upon being startled by the voice that was in very close proximity. The voice was unmistakably feminine, yet its pitch was low. She turned her head left only to find nothing, but when she turned to the right, she was greeted with a pair of knee-high boots standing tall, which were completely flat at the heels. She slowly glanced upwards to analyze the rest of the female figure before her, observing such details as brown pants, a thick tail, a light tank top, and a pair of gloves that reached up to the elbows, one of which was holding onto a maroon bow. They were also wearing a backpack containing a number of arrows similar to the one that was currently in Cream's hand. The figure itself had a mature build, her fur a gentle mint green, and with the exception of her pants, all of her clothes were different shades of blue. Finally, the rabbit looked up at the head, but all she could see was a pair of cool brown eyes, for the rest of the woman's face was obscured by a bandana from the bottom, and a headscarf from the top. Two arched ears poked out of the headscarf, as did a ponytail as large as her head, its shape being strikingly similar to that of her actual tail.

The young girl wordlessly offered the arrow to the woman, not knowing what else to do. The woman in turn took a hold of it, and placed it back in with the rest of her arrows.

"Sorry you had to bear witness to that repulsive fiend," the woman said as she held her nose up high as a sign of contempt in reference to the beast, not that you could see it when her bandana was covering it. She then casually glanced at the surrounding trees with her hands on her hips. "I'm afraid we've been troubled by this thing for a short while now. Been causing all sorts of strife, so it has." She paused to flutter a gloved hand in front of her masked face in disgust. "Stinks quite offensively as well, for that matter… Are you alright?"

Though Cream could safely assume this person meant no harm - they just saved her life, after all - she was still a little bit intimidated and anxious. It didn't take long for the woman to sense this, as she walked closer to the girl and slowly kneeled down to match her height. Upon getting a closer look at the figure's eyes, Cream could see that there was a faint, light blue tint to her sclera. Yet, they didn't show any sign of malice. On the contrary in fact, they brought her own mother to mind.

"It's okay, sweetie," the older one assured in a comforting tone. She pulled down her bandana to reveal her soft muzzle, which was a rather pale shade of tan. The two slits that formed her nostrils confirmed that she was a horse.

"You're safe now," she added as she slowly rubbed Cream's hand. "You don't need to be afraid of me."

"I…" Cream took a moment to gather her thoughts. This little experience was all very sudden for her. "Thank you for saving me, but… I shouldn't be talking to strangers…"

"I suppose not." The woman couldn't help but chuckle a little at the rabbit's innocence. "But the least I could do is make sure you're safe around here. Where's your mother?"

"Oh, I didn't come here with my mother," Cream explained. "I came here with my friend, Amy. I told her that I wanted to get familiar with this place, because I'm not used to being this far away without my mother for so long, and…"

She stopped upon making the dreaded realisation that with all the directions she had went to escape the beast, she now had no idea whereabouts in the forest she was.

"Oh no…" she panicked, looking down at the ground worriedly. "I told Amy I wouldn't get lost here… She's going to wonder where I went…"

"I can take you back to her if you want," the horse offered with a soft smile. "I live around here, you know. I know this forest like the back of my hand."

Cream looked at Cheese, who in turn glanced at the horse, as if he were silently coming to his own conclusion on whether she could be trusted. He nodded, and the girl felt at ease. "Okay… If you're sure that would be alright, Miss… Miss…"

"Lutrudis," the woman answered for her. "The name's Lutrudis." Still holding her hand, she slowly stood up once more. Cream couldn't help but notice that she looked somewhat exhausted just by doing this simple motion, but she put it to the back of her mind, figuring it wasn't a big deal. As they began walking out of the forest together, Cream decided to continue their conversation.

"Miss Lutrudis, can I ask what your surname is?"

"My surname is Hadeer. Why do you ask?"

"It's so that I can call you Miss Hadeer. I don't like being rude."

"Oh, you're hardly being rude at all," the horse looked down at her with content amusement. "You don't need to be so formal with me, Cream. Just Lutrudis will do."

"Wait a minute… You know who I am?"

"I know who Amy is too," the horse shrugged. "Why _wouldn't_ I know who you two are? You don't go on all those adventures without the rest of the world catching word of them. Especially not when they involve a certain friend of yours called…" She paused deliberately with a knowing smirk as she touched her cheek with her index finger in faux-thought. "…Sonic, I think his name is?"

"Well, Mr. Sonic _is_ pretty famous," Cream giggled, which was quickly replaced with her excitedly coming up with an idea. "I can't wait for him to meet you!"

Lutrudis' smirk slowly faded, and in its place was a look of mild shock, as she gradually realised what she meant. " _…He's_ here?"

"Yeah! He came here for a vacation! So did Tails!"

"Chao!" Cheese helpfully added.

"I see…" Lutrudis slowly muttered as she mentally processed the realisation. She never thought Sonic the Hedgehog, the fastest thing alive, the saviour of the world a hundred times over, would ever show his face in Viridonia. And yet against all expectations, he apparently has. And now she's being offered to meet him? _To meet Sonic the Hedgehog?_

"Would you like to see him?" Cream asked politely.

Snapping out of the sudden rush in her mind, Lutrudis looked down at her new friend with an impressive amount of restraint, but with an obvious hint of excitement. "Well… if it would be no inconvenience to him…"

"Not at all! He loves meeting new people!… As long as they're not _bad_ people, hee hee." She grabbed Lutrudis' hand tighter as she prepared to make a dash. "Let's go find them! I think they'll like you!"

"Slower, please," the horse gently requested. She had a look of strain on her face that appeared to be caused by the brief moment of running, but she quickly tried to disguise it so as to not alert her friend. "I know you guys are fast on your feet, but my endurance kind of stinks… It's not like we're in a hurry anyway, right?"

"Yes, you're right. Sorry, Miss Hadee-" The girl was quick to fix her verbal error. "…Sorry, Lutrudis." She giggled again.

Lutrudis could only smile to herself once again in return.

* * *

"There you are, Cream! I was starting to wonder where you went."

"Sorry for worrying you, Amy," Cream replied. "But I got lost in the forest when this big monster attacked me!"

"Monster…?" Amy inquired out of concern. Wasn't this supposed to be their vacation destination? Yet they only just arrived, and _already_ there's a villain running around?

"Yes, it was really scary…" The young rabbit closed her eyes tightly at the memory of the beast. "I don't think it's anything that Mr. Sonic faced before either…"

"Well, well! What's this about me and a monster?" asked Sonic, having finally finished dealing with the crowd of enthusiastic fans along with Tails. He sounded more than just casually curious about the subject.

"The monster who was chasing me in the forest," Cream explained to him. "It was big, and it was fast, and it had really large teeth! And big red eyes too!"

"There's a _lot_ of monsters who fit that description…" Sonic lightly snarked to himself, before rubbing the rabbit's head affectionately. "Don't worry about it, Cream. We'll send it packing in no time! Am I right, Tails?"

"Sure," Tails answered, sighing to himself. "But of course this had to happen when we were _supposed_ to be taking a vacation. We're never gonna get a break, are we?"

"Aw, c'mon Tails," Sonic put his arm around the fox. "The sooner we get rid of them, the sooner we can get to that. Nothing we can't handle, eh?" He gently nudged his friend repeatedly. "Eh? Eh? Eh?"

"Yeah, yeah," Tails smiled as he rolled his eyes light-heartedly at his friend's eager attitude for adventure. "So uh… who's the lady with the bow and arrows?"

He gathered everyone's attention by pointing at Lutrudis, who had been standing there the whole time without saying a word. Her hands were clasped tightly behind her back, and her eyes were pointing to the ground. Her feet were mildly fidgeting.

"That's Lutrudis Hadeer!" Cream beamed excitedly. "She saved me from the monster!"

"Is that so?" Sonic smiled as he walked over to Lutrudis, stretching his arm out to offer a hand shake. "Pleased to meet ya! I'm Sonic!"

Lutrudis glanced at Sonic's hand, then looked up at Sonic's smiling face, then looked back down at his hand again. Her facial expression was calm, but her mind was busy. _Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends are here._ _ **Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends are here.**_ And now they're talking to her. _Her._ What was she to say? What was she to do? How could she talk to Sonic the Hedgehog without making a fool of herself…?

"Hi…" Lutrudis muttered shyly, finally breaking her silence. She slowly shook Sonic's hand. "Please excuse me, I'm a… really big fan of you guys… truly honored to meet you all."

"You know who we are?" Amy asked.

"Well, you guys save the world all the time, do you not?" Lutrudis shrugged sheepishly, her hands once again clasped behind her back. "Yeah… I know a lot about you lot…"

"Really now…?" Sonic smirked as he rubbed his hands together fiendishly. "How about a little trivia quiz! Where does the Master Emerald dwell?"

"On Angel Island, of course." Lutrudis waved her right hand at nothing in particular. "Everyone knows that."

"Alright. And where do, say… the Sol Emeralds stay?"

"In the Sol Dimension, obviously."

"Not bad, not bad…"

"I've got one!" Amy giddily announced. "Where did I first meet my one true love?"

"At Never Lake, on the way to the Little Planet," Lutrudis answered, not bothering to acknowledge Sonic rolling his eyes at what Amy referred to him as.

"My turn," Tails grinned. "What colour of Chaos Emerald did I use to power up the Tornado?"

"The red one," the horse replied, without skipping a beat.

"Nice!" Tails complimented.

"She really knows her stuff!" Cream added.

"Okay, here's the big one!" Sonic dramatically waved his hands in the air for a few seconds before pointing directly at the mare. "…What's my weight?"

Lutrudis blinked in response to the unexpectedly personal nature of the question. The lack of an immediate response briefly convinced Sonic that he had her on the ropes, but it didn't take long for Lutrudis to casually cross her arms, with a smirk of her own. She slowly tilted her head back as she looked at Sonic, still smirking.

"35 kilograms."

Sonic paused. He stared at her for a few seconds before turning his head to his friends, who were similarly shocked. He turned it back to Lutrudis.

"… _You're_ _ **scary.**_ _"_

"Heh," the woman politely curtsied. "I guess I won that little questionnaire then?"

"You bet!" Sonic grinned. "Your know-how is awesome!…And slightly terrifying when you really think about it…But awesome!"

"See?" Cream laughed. "I told you they would like you!"

Lutrudis smiled nervously as she kept darting her eyes between Sonic, Tails, Amy and Cream. It was still very surreal and nerve-wracking for someone like her to be chatting away with such famous heroes, but if she hadn't screwed up her introduction just yet, then maybe she didn't have anything to worry about.

"Oh god, there it is again!" a random cheetah passerby commented out loud in a frightened tone. "Run for your lives!"

As if on cue, the majority of citizens started bolting out of the area in a panicked frenzy. Sonic could only watch in confusion as everyone left the scene, bar his own little group.

"That's it!" Cream cried with a pointed finger. "That was the monster that chased me!"

Sonic immediately turned his head to look behind himself, and sure enough, the shadowy beast was hovering right there in the plaza. Curiously, it didn't seem to be doing much damage in the area, nor did it bother going for any of the escaping citizens. But as far as Sonic was concerned, if it's a monster that needed to be dealt with, then it's a monster that needed to be dealt with… As long as Amy didn't get rid of it first.

"Hey, you think you can scare away my friend?" Amy asked angrily as she took out her trusty hammer. "Not on my watch, buddy!"

The demon could only respond by roaring aggressively in Amy's direction. The pink hedgehog actually had to focus on keeping her footing, lest she fall over from the sheer force of the roar. Frustrated, she opted to just throw her hammer right in the monster's face, scoring a direct hit. As the beast shook its head in a rage, Amy grabbed Cream and called out to the Blue Blur.

"Sonic! I'll get Cream out of here before it notices her again!"

"But Amy!" Sonic called out in return. "What about your hammer?"

"It's okay, I've got hundreds of those!" Amy ran off with her rabbit friend. "Give it a good socking for me!"

"I'd give it one regardless…" Sonic muttered to himself resignedly, before turning his attention to Tails. "Think you can handle this, buddy?"

Tails simply nodded as he continued glaring at the beast.

The blue hedgehog then turned to Lutrudis, who was taken aback by having to see the monster again so soon after the previous time. "Hey! Are you good with those arrows of yours?"

"I, uh…" Lutrudis darted her eyes between Sonic and the beast, quite obviously a little distracted by the situation she was suddenly thrown into. "I'm still learning with them, but I've landed a hit on it before…"

"Great," Sonic snapped his fingers. "Help us out if you can, will ya?"

"I'll… I'll try."

"That's the spirit." Sonic prepared himself as the monster roared once again in fury. "Alright Mr. Cloudy, show us what you've got!"

* * *

 **BOSS: ?**

Yes, like Chaos Zero in Sonic Adventure, we start things off with a boss fight. The plaza near the beach makes up the arena. The ground is completely flat, but that won't be a problem here. This is basically just an early way of getting the player acquainted with the controls, without needing to bother with all that pesky "tutorial" nonsense.

Anyhow, Mr. Cloudy - presumably _not_ his real name - only has a few attacks to subdue you with. Its favourite attack is spewing a pillar of dark mist from its mouth, as though it were breathing fire. Somewhat cunningly for such an early boss, it likes to aim at you when it does this, but it's nothing that can't be foiled with a spin dash if you're Sonic, or simply flying if you're Tails. It also likes to summon a shadowy tentacle with a clawed hand at its tip, to which it attempts to swipe you with. Just jump over this, it's no big deal.

While you're fighting it, Lutrudis is carefully walking around the perimeter of the arena. Always walking mind you, never running. Don't worry, she doesn't need to be protected. What you want to do is attack the monster's head three times. How you do it or how long it takes you to do it doesn't matter, hitting it thrice at all is the only required criteria. When this happens, Lutrudis will use the beast's extreme focus on your character as an opportunity to fire one of her arrows at it. This doesn't hurt the beast, but it will snarl and turn towards her direction in response. It's at this point that a peculiar spot on the back of its neck starts glowing wildly. Yes, this is the weakpoint, if you hadn't guessed before I even started this sentence. Give _that_ a whack, and its health meter will at last go down just a bit.

It doesn't get any more complicated than this, though it does add one more attack to its arsenal after you've damaged it twice, and thus brought it down to half its health. It floats above the arena for a few seconds, before slamming the ground with a mighty crash, creating a dark shockwave in the process. The shockwave's speed might throw you off guard, but again, nothing to worry about. Just hit it where it counts two more times, and the job is done. Don't expect future boss encounters to be this easy, _hero._

* * *

In response to the beating it just received, the beast roared violently yet again, before taking to the skies like it did before. Sonic dusted himself off as he checked to make sure Tails and Lutrudis were okay.

"Yep, that was a bad guy alright," Sonic commented, glancing up at the sky with a raised eyebrow. "Ran away like a bad guy too. We better track that thing down before it causes more trouble… What even IS that thing anyway? It doesn't scream 'local wildlife' to me…"

"I wish I knew," Lutrudis replied as she gathered her arrows. "The only thing I DO know is that it's been here for… about over a week, I believe. I think it's been getting stronger during that time, but I don't know for sure…"

"Well, whatever the deal is with it, we're gonna get it straight outta here," Sonic cracked his knuckles with confidence. "Right, Tails?"

"Right," the fox confirmed as he stretched his titular tails as well as his arms.

"I'm so sorry about this," Lutrudis rubbed the back of her head meekly. "Cream told me you guys came here for vacation's sake, and now this happens."

"Why apologise?" Sonic checked carefully for marks on his sneakers, going from one sneaker to the other, then back again. "It's not like _you_ were the bad guy."

"Well, no, but…" She sighed. "You shouldn't need to get involved with this. You guys are always busy as it is…"

"Hey now! That's the way I like it!" The hedgehog winked with a toothy grin.

"…I'm not entirely opposed to it either," Tails shrugged half-jokingly.

"Well, if you're sure…" The horse pointed in the left direction of the plaza. "I think it was headed for that way. That's where the meadows are. Maybe it has a hideout there…?"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Sonic asked rhetorically as he hit the palm of his hand with his fist. "No use standing around here chatting idly! Let's go after 'em!"

"You guys go on ahead," Lutrudis muttered while she rubbed her arm. She looked notably dejected. "I'll only slow you two down… literally. I can't run that fast."

"Let me help with that," Tails gladly suggested as he used his twin tails to perform his signature form of flight, before clasping his hands with Lutrudis' own as he picked her gently off the ground. With Lutrudis in tow, Tails floated not too high above the land as Sonic started jogging below them.

"…You're not acrophobic, are you?" Tails suddenly asked in a sheepish tone.

"This height is fine," Lutrudis assured him. "But like I was saying, I can't run much because… …" She paused before going through with her explanation, and she tilted her head slightly to and fro as if she was mentally arguing with herself. She decided to to change course instead. "Well anyway, why bother taking me with you guys? What good will I do?"

Sonic could only chuckle to himself. "Maybe we just wanna hang out with a friend!"

"…F-Friend…?" Lutrudis seemed genuinely astonished by the hedgehog's simple statement.

"Yeah! You're our friend now, right?"

"But… you only just met me…?"

"Hasn't stopped him before," Tails smiled knowingly, clearly talking from experience.

"Besides," Sonic added. "We've never been here before! We could use a handy tour guide! AND you did pretty good back there too! So what makes you think you'll slow us down?"

Lutrudis had nothing to say to that, in part because she was still shocked by the revelation that Sonic the Hedgehog now considered her a friend. She looked down at him, then she glanced up at Tails. She slowly moved her eyes to the side as she let out a bashful smile, and her ears drooped ever so slightly.

As they moved closer and closer towards the meadows in Viridonia, the horse concluded that the next few days were most likely going to be very eventful for her.


	2. Over the Hills and Yonder

_**Chapter 1: Over the Hills and Yonder**_

"Are you sure the thing was heading this way?" Sonic asked, still jogging below the flying Tails with Lutrudis in tow.

"Yes," Lutrudis replied firmly. "There's another town not too far from here. It might be preparing to menace THAT one in some way."

"Is that all it's been doing?" Tails questioned to himself. "No grander scheme beyond scaring locals?"

"Whatever else there is to its story, it'd be deceitful of me to say I know of it." The horse looked down at Sonic, and she noticed right away to her own amusement that he was looking around him with a palpable hint of satisfaction.

"So, seeing how this WAS intended to be your vacation destination… what do you guys think of what you see?"

"It's pretty sweet!" Sonic called up to her with a huge grin. And no one could blame him for being pleased, for the field they were in was truly picturesque in every sense of the word. The rich greenery was complimented by rows upon rows of flowers and tulips, the lakes and rivers were kept in pristine condition, and the leaves of the trees came in a variety of greens, yellows, oranges, reds, and even pinks. And though the sky above was certainly bright and blue, there was a subtle touch of pink up there too.

There were also plenty of hills.

Perfect conditions for a supersonic hedgehog.

"I'm liking it too," Tails commented happily. "Amy and Cream would _love_ it around here." His smile was gradually replaced with a frown as he looked back at the direction of the town they were previously in. "I hope they got away safely…"

"I'm sure they did," Lutrudis assured him, looking up at him with a gentle smile. "I may not… _know_ -know your friends, but I know they're just like you guys. And _you_ guys always manage to take care of yourselves, right?"

"Right!" Sonic's grin got even wider. "So let's… get… _started!_ " And with that, he couldn't help himself and went from a light jog to dashing his way across the landscape in seconds. Tails and Lutrudis paused as they both looked down at where Sonic once was.

"Forgive him," Tails commented resignedly, still looking down. "He does this all the time."

"I figured as much," Lutrudis giggled lightly.

* * *

 **Gleaming Meadows Zone**

 _ **GM Act 1: Blossom Fields**_

 **Lutrudis' Badnik Logs:  
** **Motobug** \- "You know these guys, right? These ladybug robots use their mono wheels to run around and… run around. They don't seem to do much else, though they can bump into you to hurt you. For footsoldiers, they kind of stink…"

 **Chopper** \- "Commonly found disturbing the peace in tranquil resorts, these naughty fishies like to hurl themselves out of the water to take a bite out of you. I wonder though, how do they never rust…?"

 **Mosqui** \- "Mosquitoes can be quite annoying, but they don't compare with these metallic parodies. They aim from the skies and stick their pointy honkers in the ground should they miss you, and they look just a little bit silly in the process."

A new adventure begins for Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower. That shadowy beast is hiding somewhere, and our heroes won't waste any time in hunting it down. But could there be more to this than meets the eye…? Let's find out.

(Yes. The answer is yes. It'd be extremely anti-climactic if there wasn't.)

The fields in Viridonia expand across miles, but as mentioned previously, green is not the only colour you'll be seeing around here, as the flowers and the trees come in a variety of colours, making for a unique atmosphere that isn't quite your typical Green Hill. As the first true stage, you'll be expected to get acquainted with the controls, so initially, there's little in the way in terms of actual obstacles, for the fields are essentially a glorified playground. Don't be afraid to experiment with your character's moves, and remember to use the hills to gain momentum. Eventually though, Motobugs will start showing up, much to Sonic's annoyance.

 **Sonic:** Badniks!? Hmph. I can't do anything without these bolt brains asking for a beating… Well, if it's a beating they want… heh heh!

Of course, Motobugs can be dealt with as easily as always, so they shouldn't provide too much of a problem… unless you're a game journalist, in which case, proceed with caution.

At this point, you may notice that the soil of the cliffs is a bit peculiar, in that some of them have faint white markings on them that appear to be telling a story. It's unclear as to what kind of story is being told exactly, but a fair number of the markings seem to be drawn in the shape of crystals…

Anyway, not long after the Motobug's debut is when the chomping Choppers and the pointy Mosqui start joining in. The presence of the Choppers naturally means that there is the occasional lake around here, of which you can go for a swim in should you choose to do so. Luckily for Sonic however, they're nowhere near large or deep enough to be a cause for concern. They're only here so that you can get familiar with the swimming controls for Tails, which we'll elaborate on a little more when it's more useful and urgent.

Towards the end, urban elements begin to pop up, most prominently a road that takes you inside a cement highway tunnel. Some innocuous vehicles will get in your way on the road, but they're extremely rare. Once you get out of the tunnel and off the road, a big gap stands in the way between you and the end of the level. Don't worry, there's no bottomless pit below, just a river filled with Choppers. Rev up your best spin dash to make an impressive leap across the gap (or just cheat and fly over it if you're Tails), and jump on the capsule to end the stage as you spot the town in the near background. Good job, hero. But it's only going to get upstairs from here…

* * *

"This must be the town," Sonic said to himself as he stopped to examine the suburban area he had arrived in. It was hardly the biggest town he had ever been in - on the contrary, it was smaller than most towns he had been in - but it was certainly fancy for such a tranquil area. White buildings with red roofs were dotted all over, and much of the ground was filled with intricate cobblestone pathways. A small fountain cooled down the sunny heat, and cleared the silence with its light splashing.

Sonic put his hands on his hips as he continued analysing the area. Though it certainly had its own identity, the appearance and atmosphere of the town reminded him strongly of Apotos. He recalled his time there from years ago, back when the world had literally been shattered. Among his other memories there, he remembered the excitable fascination with ice cream and chocolate expressed by his friend, Chip.

He chuckled sadly at the memory. With how much time had passed since then, he couldn't help but think about that old friend of his…

"HELP! HEEEELLLLPPPP!"

Until the sudden screeching of an oncoming gazelle interrupted his thoughts, that is.

"Well, uh," Sonic stuttered as he put on a heroic face, his hands still placed on his hips as the woman ran up to him. He ever so slightly puffed his chest. "What seems to be the problem, ma'am?"

"You're Sonic the Hedgehog, right!?" the lady asked with an extensive amount of anxiousness. She kept glancing to her left and right like she was possessed.

"Yep!" He smiled and winked. "Sure am!"

" _SAVE US!"_

She then ran off in a panicked frenzy, screaming all the way. Sonic maintained his pose and his smile for a good few seconds, as still as a statue.

"…Helpful," he concluded in an upbeat manner that clashed heavily with his obvious sarcasm.

"I guess something _has_ happened here then?"

Sonic jumped in mild surprise at the voice that came from behind him, and turned around to find Lutrudis right there, along with Tails.

"Yeah," Sonic confirmed as he put his hand on his chest in response to the unintended jump scare. "But I don't know what. Probably some Badniks causing havoc."

"Well, there _were_ a bunch of Badniks back there," Tails noted with a hint of dread. "Which can only mean one thing…"

Sonic and Tails both exchanged a stern look with each other, as if knowing what the other was going to say. Which was perfectly justified, as the conclusion was fairly obvious to them both…

" _ **Eggman."**_

Lutrudis could only shake her head in disappointment at the revelation. She knew this was more than likely an inevitable outcome, as a great majority of Sonic's adventures had been initiated by the mad scientist's ill-intentioned doings, but it was still uncomfortable to learn that a notorious criminal with a penchant for endangering the planet has made his presence known on her island.

As Sonic and Tails continued discussing the matter with each other, she could only wonder what made someone like Eggman decide to pay her home a visit… She had a few ideas.

* * *

 _ **GM Act 2: Swanky Suburbs**_

 **Lutrudis' Badnik Logs:  
** **Poochy** \- "These metal dogs like to sleep around, but they'll make a run for you if you're near them. They're more of a minor nuisance if anything, honestly…"

 **Lawnmauler** \- "These sadistic lawnmowers want to cut a lot more than just grass, but they roam around at their own leisure, much like an actual lawnmower when supervised by people who don't know how to use them."

 **Returning Enemies:  
** Motobug  
Chopper  
Mosqui

The town setting means that you now have more things to play around with. You can run and jump across the rooftops, or you can bounce on the lawn chairs lying around. You can cool yourself off in the swimming pools, or you can walk in completely uninvited to people's gardens and their kids' treehouses. You can use the slides and the swings in the park to build up your speed, or you can even enter the little shops and buy a few nifty memorabilia for yourself if you have the right amount of rings for them.

But, uh, Badniks are still invading, so you should probably sort them out too. It's not fun when there's a Chopper in your pool. The kids get put off by that.

Of the two new Badniks, the Lawnmaulers are the more annoying of the two. They may not go straight for you like the Poochies do when you wake them up, but they're faster, and combined with their aimless pattern, they can prove to be surprisingly troublesome for enemies this early on in the adventure. Still, nothing you can't handle. You're not going to get upstaged by a sentient lawnmower, are you? That would be a pretty big fall from grace for someone who clashed with the Ultimate Lifeform.

Because you're in town, you can actually interact with some of the citizens. There's rarely a justified reason to do this beyond initiating some humorous interactions, but it's a little bonus for you all the same. One bear local in particular is rather irate about the current situation.

"Unbelievable! I came here to live a life of peace and solitude, and what do I get? Robots messing up my house! One of them even stole my best tie! My BEST tie! I LOVED that tie! I'm moving back to Cosmic City when this is over…!"

Despite everything that's been said however, you don't actually have to eliminate all Badniks in the area. While you _do_ get bonus points by going out of your way to stop them from further terrorizing the locals, the required objective is simply getting to the end like always, which is represented by the northest section of the town…

However, when you get there, you'll make an unexpected discovery: a mid-sized, egg-shaped contraption fitted with long legs that curiously resemble that of a chicken's. It was going around using its legs to crush innocent houses and dearly beloved cars, but then you turned up, so now it has its attention on _you_. And it looks slightly more important than your typical Badnik, so that means… it's time for a boss.

 **BOSS: Chicken Walker**

Although funnily enough, this guy is actually _more_ simple than the monster from earlier, as its only real attack is using its legs to crush you if you're near, and cause shockwaves if you're not. If you're skilled, you can actually hurt this robot any time you want, but if you're too… _chicken_ , the best time to attack is the moment it lands on the ground, for at that moment, the bending of its legs means that the body is lower to the ground. Give it a whack, rinse, repeat, and it'll crack wide open soon enough. Very simple. You could probably do it blindfolded.

* * *

"Thank you so much, Sonic! You're the best!"

"That was so cool, Tails!"

"I'm gonna upload this so I can show my friends!"

Taking a moment to breath after having to shake a lot of hands with adoring fans who were thankful for their heroic efforts, Sonic and Tails looked around to make sure there were no more Badniks in sight. They couldn't see any. They turned to witness Lutrudis comforting a group of children, who seemed surprisingly relaxed and content despite the attack that just happened. As the children ran off in different directions, Lutrudis walked back to the hedgehog and fox.

"I kept them company while you two were doing your thing," Lutrudis said as she looked back at them playing around. "Couldn't bare to see them scared out of their wits."

Sonic couldn't help but smile at this.

"So Dr. Eggman really is here, then…" Lutrudis gravely acknowledged.

"Guess so," Tails shrugged.

"I don't suppose you know just as much about HIM as you proved to know about us?" Sonic jokingly asked as they started walking across the rest of town.

"Well, someone with his narcissism makes himself known as it is, doesn't he?" The horse lightly adjusted the elbow of her glove as she gave her summation of the doctor. "Captures animals to power his machines, makes despicable weapons with malicious intent, frequently misuses powerful relics, threatens the world and its inhabitants just to make a grab for what he feels he's entitled to… and his personality stinks like trash on top of that."

"Sounds like someone is rather contemptuous of him," Sonic snarked with amusement.

"Quite so," Lutrudis reaffirmed. She looked down at the ground. "I know it probably sounds silly to you, since you always beat him and so… but he's still dangerous, isn't he? Even if he's a bit of a clown, he's done a lot of really twisted things. I just can't help but feel strongly about that, and I fear what he's going to do in Viridonia…"

"Hey," Sonic smiled as he put an arm around Lutrudis, which visibly caught the green horse by surprise. "He won't win. He's not gonna take over your home. We'll get him out of here in no time, Lootrudis."

A brief period of silence suddenly interrupted the conversation. It was a slightly painful silence.

"…It's _Luh_ -tru-dis," she corrected.

"Oh, right, my bad," Sonic raised his hands in the air. There was a minor shade of blush on his cheeks, no doubt caused by the embarrassment of the error. Lutrudis didn't seem to mind too much though, fortunately for him.

"So where _is_ Eggman?" Tails asked the two of them. "I haven't seen him anywhere here."

"He can't be too far away," Sonic mused, placing a fist in the palm of his other hand. "You know how it goes, Tails. If there's robots around, the doc is always near."

"Good point, but what would he be here for? Do you think he has a base nearby?"

The two heroes stopped to ponder about the doctor's whereabouts, but as they were doing so, Lutrudis seemed to be thinking of something herself, as evidenced by the squint in her eyes and the rubbing of her chin. Sure enough, something popped up in her mind.

"Now that I think about it," she began with a raised finger. "There happens to be an old mill around here. It's remained disused for heaven knows how long, but maybe Eggman could have found a use for it…?"

Sonic immediately nodded. "You know what? You're probably right. A nut like him _would_ hide in a place like that… Guess we better find it, eh?"

With no additional words, Sonic and Tails ran off to the hills beyond. Lutrudis, visibly dejected by accidentally being left behind, began to jog after them. Her jogging was curiously stilted, as if she was trying not to go beyond a certain level of speed. As she was doing this, a walrus citizen who was holding a bunch of broken Motobug parts called out to her

"Hey! Can you help us clean the town up? These robot parts are everywhere!"

Lutrudis looked at the man with concern, clearly apologetic for not being in a position to fulfill his request. "I'm really sorry, but something urgent is up! We'll help you out when we get back, I promise!"

As she continued to run off, the walrus could only throw his hands in the air… and accidentally drop the Motobug's head on his own foot in the process. It was rather sore for him.

* * *

 _ **GM Act 3: Yellow Hills**_

 **Lutrudis' Badnik Logs:  
** **Cluckoid** \- "These blowhards are too chicken to attack you. Instead, they charge up a gust of wind to blow you away… usually into other dangers from nearby."

 **Tomafoe** \- "Bouncing tomatoes? Good grief… They don't stop bouncing either, lest you put a stop to them."

 **Carruffian** \- "These carrots sure are ruffians alright. They're a bit stuck in the mud, but they'll launch themselves out and try to pounce on you. You don't need to eat your vegetables to see THEM in the dark."

 **Returning Enemies:  
** Motobug

You're a little more by the countryside now, meaning the green grass you were once accustomed to has now been replaced with a shade of yellow. The riverbanks - commonly used for fishing - are as ripply as ever, but now they're teeming with cabins, trailers, old bridges, and a quiet rural village… Or at least, it _would_ be quiet if it weren't for those meddling robots.

Initially, your journey is largely uneventful, so aside from dealing with the occasional Motobug and Cluckoid, you can enjoy the country scenery as much as you like. But soon enough, you'll begin to reach the farmlands within the prairie, and that's when things get a little more wild.

The owners of these farms must be sleeping on the job, because they don't seem to have noticed that robot carrots and robot tomatoes have invaded their crops. As the more sneaky of the two, Caruffians will prove to be more annoying. But you'll also have to avoid getting stuck in mud, as well as avoid the frantic charging of frightened cows, pigs and sheep, who clearly HAVE noticed the robots and are understandably not pleased about their presence.

Speaking of presence, Sonic can't help but point out the presence of a horse stable…

 **Sonic:** Hey, look! It's your home!

 **Lutrudis:** Oh, _hardy har har._

The end of the level comes in the form of you running straight through a large barn. As you'd expect, it's _packed_ with animals, so you'll have to maneuver a bit to get through them… if you were a regular person. But you're the fastest thing alive (or his little bro), so you can simply jump over or spin dash through them. If you decide to do the latter, you'll send the animals flying across the room like they're ragdolls, but they won't get hurt… too much. Lutrudis will still dryly ask if that was necessary, though.

As you open the capsule to complete this stage, you can see a tall wooden mill in the distance. It looks to be abandoned, and it doesn't look all that inviting… But there's unlikely to be another mill around here, so this must be the one.

* * *

 _ **GM Act 4: Rusty Mill**_

 **Lutrudis' Badnik Logs:  
** **Bat Brain** \- "These bats have made a nice little home for themselves in this mill… and I use the term 'nice' loosely. They hang from the ceiling until you come close, at which point they'll fly down to attack."

 **Workman Pawn** \- "Carrying a big ol' sledgehammer with them at all times, these orange Pawns waste no time in using them against you. But what's the point in them wearing safety helmets if they're already made of metal…?"

 **Returning Enemies:  
** Motobug  
Cluckoid

No cutscene this time I'm afraid, we go straight to the next act. You have arrived at this rather imposing mill, and it certainly fits the description of disuse. From the moment you enter it, you can see that it's full of dust and cobwebs, much of the paint has long deteriorated, and even the wood itself has largely decayed. Could Eggman - or indeed, that mysterious monster - _really_ be here?

Apparently so, because it doesn't take long for a bunch of Workman Pawns to alert themselves of your presence, and they react accordingly. They can either smash their sledgehammers straight down, or they can swing them around. You can tell which one it'll be if you pay attention to what they do with their hammer right before attacking: If they juggle it, they'll smash it. If they twirl it, they'll spin it. These guys are essentially an early warning that enemies will get more tricky the further you progress in your adventure, so make sure to learn that lesson as soon as possible… or you'll regret it later on.

As for the mill itself, there'll be a fair bit of vertical platforming here, so use the cobwebs to your advantage by bouncing off of them, but be sure to watch out for flying Bat Brains while you're doing so. Some of the Pawns can be crafty and use their hammers on the wooden structures in an attempt to flatten you, so be wary of that too, and Cluckoids tend to be placed in areas right above the vertical sections, so get rid of them before you get acquainted with a specific form of frustration.

By the time you reach the top, you'll find a single Egg Pawn in the middle of the room. It JUST turned off a communication device before you walked in. It must have received a message from Eggman, but for what reason…? Upon noticing you, the Pawn will let out a maniacal giggle… and casually light a match…

 **Sonic:** …!…

No matter how quickly you attack the Pawn, he'll successfully throw the match at the wall, which naturally causes a chain reaction that results in _the entire mill getting set on fire._ Sonic is naturally reminded of his first time on Angel Island, but this thought is quickly replaced by the more important matter of getting out of there.

The rest of the level is considerably more hectic as a result, because there are a lot more obstacles now, such as the spots of fire on the floor, and the burning piles of wood that like to fall upon you… There's no time limit though. You can stand there inhaling smoke for ages and the mill will still be standing despite burning up, because video games aren't known for sticking to realism when it inconveniences them.

As you begin to reach the exit of the mill, you might think this trip was a waste of time, as neither Eggman or the monster were found inside the mill. That may be so… however, as if sensing that feeling of no resolution, a trio of Pawns suddenly barge through a wall in a giant bulldozer. The bulldozer appears to be highly modified, as regular bulldozers are not known for storing missiles and bombs. It also looks big enough to do some major damage to a town… like the town we were in two levels ago…

You better put this thing down before that happens.

 **BOSS: The Paindozer**

Going in like a screaming warrior won't work here, because the blade on the front simply shunts you away when you try to attack it. Even if you try to attack the top of the vehicle, or fly to it with Tails, the blade will simply rise high enough to block that as well. Therefore, you'll be running away and dodging a lot of the time. Merely touching the blade doesn't hurt you, but you won't want to be near it anyway, because it likes to use its extended claw to crush you if you're close. Otherwise, it's content with firing missiles at your anthropomorphic self.

How do you attack it? Well, Lutrudis will be helping you out again. She'll be firing arrows in strategic points of the Paindozer in the hopes of jamming its functions. A lot of her arrows will comically miss or bounce off - likely because being in such an intense situation is throwing her off, considering she's not a seasoned thrill seeker like you are - but occasionally, one of her arrows _will_ land a hit and successfully jam it. Having a degree of awareness, the Pawns will immediately try reversing the vehicle away from you afterwards, but you can catch up to it easily. The Pawns themselves are the targets you want to hit, so land a hit on one of them.

Every two hits gets rid of one Pawn, and the Paindozer's aggression will ramp up every time this happens. When you get rid of the first Pawn, it'll start making use of its bombs, which unleash a pillar of flame upon detonation. When you eliminate the second Pawn, it'll gain the habit of slowly reversing back… before immediately charging at you head-on, intending to use the blade to crush you against the wall. It's startlingly fast for such a huge vehicle, but you can dodge it if you keep a cool head. Once the final Pawn is knocked off his seat and destroyed, the Paindozer _itself_ has a tantrum and starts going bonkers. At this point, it doesn't bother with the missiles or the bombs. It just charges at you again and again.

Unfortunately for the Paindozer, its overly aggressive colliding with the walls is actually causing dents that weaken the blade. Keep hitting those dents, and the entire blade will eventually fall off, revealing a suspicious weakpoint-looking core on the front of the vehicle. The Paindozer will start reversing again when this happens, this time as fast as it possibly can, but clearly it underestimates who you are. Hunt it down and give it one last hit, and the Paindozer will finally doze off for good.

Like the Pawns in this very level, this boss is an early wake up call regarding the challenge that later bosses will pose. Keep that in mind, or you won't be prepared for what's in store. But for now, congratulations on your victory.

Sonic, Tails and Lutrudis were lucky to get out of the mill mere seconds before it collapsed onto itself. The three of them hid behind a bush to look back at where the mill once stood. Once the dust had settled, in its place was a large mound of burnt wood.

"Boy, talk about cutting it close," Tails commented, his eyes still glancing at the mound of wood.

"Eh, not really," Sonic smirked, before turning to Lutrudis. "You okay from all that?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Lutrudis gave a small thumbs up to him, although she looked as though she had the wind knocked out of her. "Just a simple near-death experience, nothing I'll lose sleep over."

Sonic laughed merrily at her unexpectedly morbid comment. By contrast, Tails had a look of concern on his face.

"So what was the point of them roaming around in there?" Lutrudis pondered, with her fingers tapping on her cheek. "To construct a giant bulldozer that would destroy the town?"

"Looks like it. But… that doesn't really seem like Eggman though," Tails pointed out as he rubbed his chin. "It seems a little too… small-time for him? Sure, destroying a town with a bulldozer is bad, but Eggman usually thinks bigger than that. I mean, he once stole a bunch of planets to use for his theme park. After all the things he's done, I can't see him settling for this course of action."

"Unless it's part of something greater…" Sonic mused with crossed arms. He stood up with a frown. "Let's not forget, we haven't seen that weird monster around here at all, and I'm willing to bet that Eggman's the one pulling its leash. We gotta get to the bottom of this, and fast."

"Right," Tails agreed, as he too stood up. Lutrudis followed suit, but she took her time doing so. Her face was strained, as if to say that the surely simple process of going from a kneeling position to a standing position was somehow causing her physical pain. The other two noticed this right away.

"Something wrong…?" Sonic asked out of concern, and also out of confusion.

"It's fine… it's fine…" Lutrudis assured in a strained voice, waving a hand to dismiss herself. "I'm fine… Nothing for you to worry about."

"…If you say so…" the hedgehog muttered, in a tone that indicated he wasn't even remotely convinced. He decided to drop the subject nevertheless. "C'mon Lootrudis, let's get out of here-"

He paused immediately as he realised his failure to pronounce his new friend's name _again._ He slowly turned to Lutrudis with his hands behind his back, an extremely sheepish grin having planted itself on the hedgehog's face.

"…Would you mind if I just called you Trudy?"

"Can you seriously not just _try_ to say her name correctly?" Tails looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "It's not _that_ hard to pronounce."

"It's okay, Tails," Lutrudis chuckled. She looked at Sonic with a warm smile. "Trudy is fine. Got a nice ring to it, I might say. It's flattering."

"Great," Sonic smiled warmly in turn. "Now let's start heading back, Trudy!"

With that, Sonic dashed off once again, Tails using his namesake to follow him close behind. Lutrudis simply stood there for a few seconds as she thought about Sonic's new nickname for her. Evidently, she wasn't used to having a nickname.

"Trudy… heh…"

With a smile, she jogged after them in her uniquely stilted way. Had she stayed in place for a moment longer however, she might have heard something coming from the mill's remains…

" _You there? You there, robots? No…? Bah…That lousy hedgehog must have wrecked them."_

" _Maybe you should have supervised them in person, doctor."_

" _I didn't ask for your opinion, Orbot."_

" _Would you like MY opinion, doc?"_

" _Never in a million years, Cubot. Well, it doesn't matter anyway. Sonic may have messed things up for them, but he won't get far this time around… Not when he sees what I have planned for him…"_

" _With respect sir, don't you say that every time you come up with a plan?"_

" _Do you WANT me to turn you into a pencil sharpener?"_

" _N-No, sir…"_

" _Good! So,_ _ **as I was saying**_ _, this is hardly a setback. There are plenty more cards on my deck, and not even HE will see it coming. Ho ho ho ho… I can't_ _ **wait**_ _to see the look on his face when… … …Cubot, is that device still on…?"_

" _Uh… yeah?"_

" _TURN IT OFF! Someone could be listening in! Jeez…"_


End file.
